


The Day The Wind Stopped

by ArchiveResponcibly



Series: Refused Fairytale [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fae!Deceit, Human!Remus, M/M, Nymphs - Freeform, fae!Logan, fae!virgil, human!patton, human!roman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23514292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchiveResponcibly/pseuds/ArchiveResponcibly
Summary: Prince Roman always found fae facinating, but never in a million years did he expect to meet one. Still, there he was, talking to a young (by fae standards) wind nymph.Virgil never cared much about humans, probably stemming from his brother's overwelming distain for them. Still, when one began singing of his favourite clearing, Virgil sang back.(updates mondays)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Refused Fairytale [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690816
Comments: 23
Kudos: 150





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel/sequel (it goes through both) of another fic For Today Only. You don't have to read that to get this, but it may explain some things about the world.

Each raindrop that peppered the prince’s balcony sounded like a boom of thunder. Each howl of the wind far more resembled that of a wolf. Roman sighed, a song clear in his mind. It hummed, tune changing ever-so-slightly each time he went through it. 

It started low, rumbling in the back of his throat. Slowly, though, the tone picked up to higher ends. He should probably write it down, he noted, but made no move to do so. Instead, he began adding lyrics. 

When he was woken up from his weather-induced trance, he’d laugh darkly at the words, but right then they sounded nice enough. So he continued.

It seemed, to the barely-there piece of his conscience, that he was making up a story on the spot. He closed his eyes, letting the song begin to describe the skyscraping trees in the forest surrounding the castle. He used to explore them when he was little, hoping to meet one of the many fae that roamed them. 

As he sang, he began to picture bushels of yellow flowers curling up from the ground. It was calm in the clearing pulling at his mind. He wasn’t quite sure when the song had died against his lips, and he was merely imagining himself standing in the clearing. The small birds around him, feathers shining desaturated blues and purples, chirped along to the rhythm. A small, red bird, barely the size of Roman’s thumbnail, continued with the melody. 

But it wasn’t the birds at all.

Roman’s eyes shot open to look out of the window. The forest, and his future kingdom at the edge of the intricately shaped panes of glass, stretched in front of him. He listened, quieting his breathing as best he could.

It seemed that the wind itself was singing. It wasn’t his song  _ exactly _ , this voice was higher, gruffer, and it showed. Roman closed his eyes again, listening to the melody filling his mind. 

“-an? Roman!” called a voice from behind him.

The prince’s eyes shot open; he then sighed, recognising the voice as his advisor and best friend, Patton Hart. he turned to look at the blonde lazily. “Pat? What’s up?” he asked. He noted that the spacious room around him had grown far darker.

Patton gave him an odd look. “It’s suppertime, Ro, didn’t you hear the bell?” the prince shook his head. He stood, climbing out of his window seat and stretched. The satisfying crack from his stiff joints echoed ever-so-slightly.

“Alright, Patton, lead the way.” Roman finally insisted. The advisor smiled brightly, pivoting on his heels and walking steadily out of the room. The prince followed him, the two winding through the ever-expanding maze of hallways, until they finally made it to the informal dining room. 

King Steven and Queen Mae sat at their ends of the pristine, cherry wood table, their advisors by their sides. The younger prince, Remus, was spacing out at his own seat, his advisor was nowhere to be seen, per usual. 

“Good evening, Roman.” The queen’s advisor, Teresa, greeted kindly. The king’s advisor, Samuel, merely brought his right hand up in a lazy wave. The two newcomers took their seats.

No one said anything, until the food was brought in front of them. Even then, it was merely a chorus of thank you’s (except Remus, who was on probation from making small-talk with the servants). 

Finally,  _ finally _ , once every plate was cleaned, and the seven were slowly going through small glasses of gelato, the king spoke. His voice boomed across the room, warm but imposing. “Say, Roman, what were you doing all afternoon? I don’t recall seeing you in the garden as usual.”

Patton followed with his own questioning look. Roman chuckled warmly. “I fell asleep humming at the window.” he didn’t mention the wind or the forest clearing, though he considered telling Patton later on.

Of course, his advisor could read him like an open book.  _ \- .... .- - .----. ... / -. --- - / .- .-.. .-.. --..-- / .. ... / .. - ..--.. _ Tapped against the table.  _ That’s not all, is it?  _ Said the morse code. 

_-. ---_ (no) He tapped back. _.. .----. .-.. .-.. / . -..- .--. .-.. .- .. -. / .-.. .- - . .-._ (I’ll explain later) he added quickly, hoping Patton wouldn’t press. It was too much to tap out at the dinner table. The king and queen gave them odd looks, but said nothing more. Remus chuckled, watching them with piqued interest. Roman was already coming to the conclusion that he had begun learning morse code. 

The darkness had become even more overwhelming when Roman and Patton finally sat, cross legged, on the prince’s bed. The blonde waited patiently for Roman to begin explaining.

“I’m pretty sure the wind was singing  _ back  _ to me.” Roman said, not worrying too much if Patton understood. If he didn’t, Roman assured himself, the blonde would ask.

Patton’s brows furrowed. “So, you were singing, and then the wind was? Did it sound humanoid?” Roman nodded. Patton’s eyes lit up. “Then it probably wasn’t the wind at all, Ro!”

“Then what was it.” the prince interrupted. Patton gave him a funny look. “Sorry.”

Patton’s smile returned. “That sounds like a Wind Nymph, Ro; a  _ fae _ .” he told Roman. “They can control things like where the wind blows, and carry messages across it. They probably heard you singing through how strong the winds were, and sent their reply.”

Roman nodded slowly. “That was profound, Pat.” the advisor smiled at him. 

“Anytime!” he insisted. “My mom taught me a lot about nymphs when she was little, she even knew one! She said he liked info dumping.” the two shared a chuckle before Patton stood up once again. “Well, I should take my leave, goodnight, Ro!”

With that, the blonde walked across the marble tiled floor to the large oak double doors. “Goodnight, Pattoncakes!” Roman called as the other left. Patton chuckled warmly at the nickname.

Even once he was left to his own devices, Roman didn’t fall asleep. Instead, he walked back over to the window and sat down. He could still hear the wind whistle outside, but it wasn’t as loud as earlier that afternoon. “Goodnight.” Roman whispered. He waited and waited for a response, before falling asleep by the glass.


	2. Chapter 2

It was quiet, too quiet, in Virgil’s clearing. He sat on a fallen log in the center, looking around at the trees. He held up one hand, the other resting in his lap; his fingers twirled around in the air for a few moments. Nothing happened.

He made a short noise of frustration, tensing the muscles in his palm the way he did when he was just starting to control his abilities. Still, the branches stayed silent, still against their trunks. 

A hand flew up to his ears, they were rounded and fragile. He’d never had the most pointed ears, but this was just ridiculous!

His annoyance was cut short by a blazing pain in his mouth, copper filling his senses. He reached a shaky hand up to his lips, pulling it away at the wet, sticky texture.

 _Blood_. 

The wind nymph shot up with a start, almost hitting his head on a nearby branch. He looked around, noticing that he wasn’t, in fact, in his house; but he was situated high up in a tree.

He sighed, moving to climb back down. Nightmares, a common occurrence for the anxious fae. When he reached the ground, he noticed that he was standing in his clearing, the sunrise just barely peeking over the leafy treetops. 

Once the fright had passed with some plain logic, Virgil’s eyelids turned back to dropping against his face. He trudged back to his house, just a little ways along the path leading away from his current spot. 

He needed caffeine, said the small, mostly awake part of his brain. Energy berries! Exclaimed the, still mostly asleep, rest of it. He gave a light, drowsy chuckle and pressed a finger to the wooden door of his cabin. 

His brother, Janus, glared at him from the sofa. “Finally returning?” he asked skeptically. Virgil waved a hand half heartedly, letting the door shut behind him. “Let me guess, you were hanging out with Remy and or Logan again?” he asked. 

“Ye-yeah.” Virgil replied, moving to grab a handful of caffeinated berries out of a large box on the counter. “That’s the excuse I’mma go with right… right now. I’ll come up with a better one later.”

Janus groaned, Virgil snorted. 

“You’re practically a teenager; I did not sign up for this.” the taller complained pointedly, picking himself up off the sofa and moving to go back to his room. “To be expected.”

Virgil stuck his tongue out at his brother. “I’m mortal age, leave me alone!” he retorted uselessly. “You were just like me when you were twenty.” He walked over and plopped down on the couch.

Janus glared at him. “I resent that.” he closed the door to his room, hiding himself inside. 

Virgil flipped him the bird, knowing full well that he wouldn’t see, and grabbed a book off the coffee table, hoping it would be one of his. He was wrong, of course, and it was one of Janus’s philosophy books. “Get your trashy novels out of the living room!”

“Oh, fuck you, Racoon.” came the reply.

“I resent that!” Virgil mocked, putting the book back down on the table and picking up one of his own. It was a simple horror novel he must have read a million times at this point.

* * *

Virgil sat in his clearing, doodling in his sketchbook, when he heard a noise. It was windy, once again, a common occurrence with all the wind nymphs around the area. Someone was singing… no, not _someone_ ; the prince.

The book was placed down on the dirt floor as Virgil set his focus to the music. There weren’t lyrics this time, though he guessed there might be soon, just humming. He strengthened the wind gusts blowing between him and the palace, listening in further.

With a burst of confidence, Virgil bit out a quick. “Afternoon, Princy.” 

There was a surprised gasp, then shuffling. Virgil bit back out a snort best he could, but failed. “Wind nymph? That you?” 

Virgil laughed, then stopped. “How’d you know?” 

“How’d you?” the prince retorted, before his voice softened. “My advisor told me.”

“You’re a tad famous.” Virgil explained, putting on a fake ‘breaking the news’ tone to his voice. “Just a bit.” Princy laughed at him.

“No kidding, Nymph.”

Virgil sucked in a breath jokingly. “Nymph? That's the best you got?” he tutted sarcastically. “Call me… Anxiety.”

Princey was silent for a moment. “Anxiety?” he finally questioned. “You got anything… happier? I know fae don’t give out their names often.”

Virgil shrugged. “My brother calls my Racoon, would you prefer that?” he asked sarcastically.

“Somehow worse.” Princy sounded slightly worried, until he heard Virgil laugh. “Guess we’re sticking with Anxiety, then.” another snort from the nymph. 

“You’re an odd one, sir sing a lot.” Virgil noted, picking his sketchbook back up off the ground. An odd, curious humm came from the other.

“I thought you were calling me Princy?” he asked. 

Virgil shrugged, not really caring if the other could see him or not. “It’s called a nickname, heard of them?” Princy snorted.

“You have no idea.” he replied. A beat of silence passed along the gusts of wind. “Tell me about yourself.” he insisted.

Virgil gave him a deadpan look, again, not one Princy could see. “I draw, I have a brother that hates mortals; I’m really not that interesting.” 

He was certain that Princy was giving him an odd sort of look. “That’s the information you decided to give?” he asked, then he snorted to himself. “It’s adorable! Well, it’s nice to see that nymphs never change.”

… 

“You have five seconds to take that back before I turn down the wind and leave.” Virgil groaned. Princy chuckled again.

“Nope.” he replied, popping the p annoyingly. “Oh come it! That was good.” Virgil shook his head. Another beat of silence. “Hey! If that’s the case with your brother, aren’t we basically Romeo and Juliet?”

Virgil was silent, taken aback. “Are you… flirting with me?”

“Possibly.” the nymph could tell that Princy was smirking. After another beat, Virgil stopped the wind, just slowly enough to hear the other gasp indignantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I don't much like this chapter, and I'm not sure why or how to fix it... so that's why it's so late in the day (I swear, it's not because I waited last minute to write it... mostly).


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're just gonna pretend I updated this on time

It had been two months since Roman first met Anxiety. To his knowledge, only the two of them, Patton, and possibly Remus knew. He was, however, proved wrong that very day. 

He was sitting by his windowsill, humming to himself, hoping Anxiety would talk to him. Instead, however, he was greeted by a deadpanned voice in the back of his head.  _ “So you’re that prince V- Anxiety keeps mentioning.”  _ it said.

Roman stopped, sitting up straighter.  _ “Hello?”  _ he asked cautiously.

The voice groaned audibly.  _ “Give me one second, are you alone?”  _ Roman could tell little of the being behind the sound, but it sounded masculine, and had the smallest FaeKey accent. 

“Yes?” 

In an instant, Roman’s room melted away, replaced by a clearing. He recognised it instantly. The trees shot up, piercing the pearl blue clouds like skyscrapers. The yellow flowers that glistened brighter than the feathers of the birds.

There was that small, red one. It was perched atop the back of a blueish grey one that Patton would chirpily refer to as a borb, before trying to hug it. He would, most certainly, fail.

Then the red bird turned, puffing up and turning a deep, soft blue. Almost like it was becoming the ocean itself. The bird's legs grew pinker, wings rounding, size growing exponentially each moment. Two, pointy ears grey from it’s now humanoid head.

The newly formed nymph strode over, one hand outstretched for Roman to take. “My alias is Logic, I am a friend of Anxiety. You must be Princy, correct?” he questioned. Roman nodded tentatively, returning the handshake.

“Where are we?” the prince placed a fake confidence over his fearful expression. Logic gave him a quizzical look at the action.

“Your mental image of Anxiety’s personal forest clearing.” he answered, tone pretending as if it were a simple statement.

“English, por favor?”

Logic gave him a Look; you know the one. “That was not English.” he deadpanned. “But to answer your question, we are in what you think Anxiety’s clearing looks like.” he looked around. “Which is, in fact, an incorrect assessment.”

Roman took a step back. “How are we here?” he asked.

Logic looked back at him. “I am what my people refer to as a Mind Nymph, Prince, creating mental links, or  _ calls _ , is one of my abilities.”

“Op.” Roman muttered under his breath, hoping the fear of the other’s abilities didn’t show on his expression. Logan gave him an odd look, not just the annoyed frustration from previously.

“I may never understand what Anxiety sees in you.” he muttered to himself.

“What I see in who?” asked the ever familiar voice of the wind nymph. Roman and Logic’s gazes snapped over to him. He walked in, slouching into a hoodie the same royal purple as his hair. “Nice mindscape, Lo, who’s is it?”

“Anxiety!” Roman exclaimed, surprised and slightly nervous. Why was he nervous? He didn’t mind Logic being in his… did Anxiety say Mindscape?

“Sup.” Anxiety greeted absentmindedly. “Wait…” he trailed off, turning from Logic to Roman slowly. “Lo… is that Princy?” Logic nodded. Anxiety looked between them, before bursting out laughing.

“What do you find so amusing, Anxiety?” Logic asked.

The mentioned looked at him incredulously, before turning to Roman. “You know, for a guy who's so insistent that everyone’s head over heels for him, you’re not actually that cute.”

“Ex-ca- _ use  _ me, J-Delightful.” Roman retorted with an indignant squak. “I am a legit snack, how dare you.”

Anxiety and Logic both snorted at him; he glowered at them, crossing his arms over his chest. While the latter just turned to watching them, the former laughed. His laugh was low, a rumble from his throat. An amused grin tugged at the corner of his lips. Roman gave his own smile, making it his new mission to make Anxiety laugh as much as possible.

“And with that, I believe it is time for me to take my leave.” Logic muttered, disappearing down into the ground. 

Roman stared at him, mouth agape. “H- how did he???” he asked, looking up at Anxiety, who laughed at him again. The prince wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or not.

“It’s called sinking out, Princy, it’s how you leave the mindscape.” 

“Oh…” Roman trailed off. Anxiety snorted again, plopping down heavily on the forest floor. “You’re gonna get dirt all over your jacket.” he deadpanned.

“One, I don’t care.” Anxiety shrugged. “Two, mindscape. Three, join me.” Roman barked out a laugh, walking over and sitting just in front of the nymph, their knees almost touching. He expected the other to move backwards, but he didn’t.

“So, how are you even here? Isn’t this my mind-thingy?” Roman asked.

“Mindscape, Princy.” Anxiety replied with a faux scowl. “And Lo invited me,” he explained. He fidgeted with the corners of his hoodie, fingertips trailing over the little, metal teeth. 

“He can do that?”

“Yup.” Anxiety popped the p. “Well, what about you?” Roman gave him an odd sort of look. “I can control wind, Lo’s got a whole slew of abilities; what powers do humans have?”

Roman tilted his head to the side, watching Anxiety quizzically. “I don’t have any powers.” he answered simply. “Everything humans can do, nymphs can do too.” he scowled, watching Anxiety take note of it.

“Don’t get emotional on me.” the nymph finally retorted, not unkindly. “Humans can do plenty of shit. I mean; world domination, what more do you need.” Roman snorted, smiling lightly. Anxiety smiled back. “Better, glad that work. Really, Princy-”

“Roman.” Roman interrupted. Anxiety gave him a blank look, surprised and taken aback. His mouth hung ajar, eyes flickering as if there was something he wanted to say. “My name’s Roman.” the prince gulped audibly, worried that Anxiety would freak out. He didn’t know much about nymphs, but he did know that giving out your name wasn’t done lightly.

“Virgil.” said the nymph. “That’s mine.” Roman’s gaze shot back up, eyes wide. Anx- Virgil was grinning nervously. “It’s stupid, I know.” he muttered. 

“I kinda like it.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to post this a week ago... sorry.  
> (edit; totally changing Deceit's name)

Virgil will admit, he didn’t go into mindscapes often. Well, he would commonly find himself in the beachside Logan built him; but he didn’t go into other people’s. Having said that, he was certain he had never been in a more frustrated mindscape.

Roman’s clearing was loud, the chirping of birds echoing from within yellow bushes. Virgil furrowed his brow, searching. The prince wasn’t there, but Virgil hoped he’d come soon. He sat down, letting his gaze wonder all over the sky scraping trees.

“What are you doing here, An- Virgil?” a familiar voice asked, kneeling down in front of the fae.

“Call me Virge.” came the reply as Virgil met Roman’s gaze. “What’s wrong? The birds are starting to piss me off here.”

Roman groaned, placing his head in his hands. Virgil snorted at his antics. “It’s stupid.” Virgil shrugged.

“Whatever; I wanna know.”

Roman almost laughed, if the odd sound from the back of his throat was any indication. “Fine, fine.” he replied, the smallest, comforted grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “It’s just… a song I’m working on.” he answered honestly.

Virgil quirked his lips into a smirk. “I know  _ that  _ feeling.” he replied. “Rhythm, melody, or lyric crisis?” he questioned. He saw Roman look up in surprise.

“Well, storyline, so I’m gonna go with a lyrical crisis.” he reasoned, looking anywhere but Virgil in an attempt to hide the pink dusting along his cheeks. Virgil masked his chuckle with a thoughtful hum.

“Want help?” 

Roman looked back, a smile dawning on his features. “Yeah!” he exclaimed, before faking a cough. “I mean, sounds great, Virge. Thanks.” The fae did actually snort that time.

“What’s your storyline, then?” Virgil asked.

A glint appeared in Roman’s warm, brown eyes that Virgil had accidentally found himself fond of. “Well, I was working on this song series about a human journeying through a graveyard and meeting all the different dead inside.” Virgil snorted again. “What!?” Roman shrieked in offense.

“Dead inside, like me.”

It took Roman a moment to process the joke, before he barked out a long laugh.  _ It wasn’t  _ that  _ funny. _ Virgil thought to himself, the tips of his ears heating up. Damn Roman, having an adorable laugh. 

_ Adorable, huh, Virge?  _ Said a voice in the back of his head coyly.

He pushed the thought away. “So which one are you stuck on?” he asked instead.

“So, I wanted the human to run into a skeleton having an existential crisis, right? But then I started having my own. Like, how does it stay together? Or think? It doesn’t have a brain.” Roman interrogated.

Virgil looked him dead in the eyes, willing himself not to laugh. He pursed his lips, before pulling his hand over his mouth to hide the grin that was sure to split his face in two. “What the actual fuck?” he asked between bouts of laughter.

“I did not catch that, Daniel Scowl.”

“Magic.” Virgil deadpanned, giving the other his best sarcastic jazz hands. The prince laughed. “I don’t know, it’s your universe, you decide that shit.”

“No shit, Jack Smellington; I’m asking for help here.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “That was… both schoolyard, and on topic. I’m impressed.” he replied, still staring into the trees. It occurred to him that the birds had begun singing softly, and the wind was blowing at the branches of the trees with far less furrosity. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, basking in the evening glow of the clearing. Carefully, as if not to pop the little bubble around the two, Roman picked himself up off the ground. “I think I got what I came for; thanks, Virgil.”

The nymph furrowed his brows, looking up. “But I didn’t give you an answer?” he questioned.

“Technically you did.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow sarcastically. “Fine, pedantic; I didn’t give you a  _ helpful  _ answer.” he corrected. Roman shrugged.

“You helped me come to one.” 

“Which is?” Virgil asked.

Roman smirked. “Not sure, brain hasn’t told me what it thought of yet; I’m gonna go let it word vomit in a notebook. Thanks, darling.” with that, he pivoted on his heels and (with a little trouble) sunk back into the real world.

* * *

“He called me darling.”

Logan groaned. “Yes, Virgil, so you’ve mentioned.” he replied, trying (and failing) to keep the annoyance at his friend out of his voice. “You also called you Jack Smellington.” he added.

“ _ Yeah _ , but-” Virgil cut off. They were sitting in his room, Virgil resting against the headboard of his bed. Logan sat back on his hands, legs hanging over the side. 

The mind nymph wrinkled his nose. “Oh, no; feelings.” he muttered to himself. It might have been the seriousness in his voice, or his own personal annoyance, but Virgil snorted. 

“And what feeling is that?” he asked cheekily.

Logan looked over at him again, raising an eyebrow. “You have a crush on him, dimwit.” he replied plainly. “And it’s pissing me off.” 

Virgil choked on his own saliva. “I do not!” he shrieked. Logan narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowed.

“Then why did I just hear about him for, what,” he looked down at his watch. “An hour?” he deadpanned. “And you’re denying it instead of laughing at me; you’re just proving my point.”

Virgil said nothing, looking away. His cheeks and ears burned, certainly another thing his friend was taking as evidence. “I can not have a crush  _ on a mortal prince _ .” he replied, keeping his voice low for the last point. He wasn’t sure where Janus was in the small house, and he didn’t want to find out.

Logan narrowed his eyes, raising the corners of his eyebrows. “And why is that?” he asked simply. “We already both know perfectly well that you are attracted to men; and you certainly do not have your brothers… qualms about humans.” he replied.

“I just  _ can’t _ .” Virgil replied unhelpfully. He knew he wasn’t helping his own case.

Logan groaned. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I need backup.” he muttered, closing his eyes.

“Who are you calling?”

“Remy Somnus.” Logan replied, his tone showing his clear disdain for the sleep nymph. 

“Oh,  _ fuck _ .” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK BABY!  
> Hello, once again. Okay; first off, I'm moving to ~mostly updating every other week on monday or thursday. Secondly (just 'cause I wanna vent) I /was/ gonna come back last thursday, but I got dumped and couldn't bring myself to; so now I'm ignoring my own relationships, and diving into fictional ones. (don't worry, I'm alright)

A few days earlier-

Roman smiled, bid Virgil goodbye, and sunk back into his bedroom. He let his grin split his cheeks in half and leaned against the window. His cheeks burned but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

_ That was… really  _ really  _ stupid _ . Insisted his final, remaining brain cell. Still, he didn’t care. He trusted Virgil with his name, goddamnit; and he liked hearing the Nymph say it. 

“Ro?” Patton asked through the door. “You’re squealing.” he informed. Roman snorted at that. “I’m coming in.” Patton opened the door, closing it lightly behind him. He stopped at once, staring at the prince. “You alright, kiddo?” 

“I told him my name.” Roman replied instead of answering. 

Patton stopped in his tracks, having only taken a step into the prince’s room. “You…” he muttered, eyes wide with terror. “You told a nymph… your name?” he asked, even though he knew the answer full well. 

“Ye-yeah, I did.” Roman agreed, hesitating slightly at Patton’s tone. He- he  _ knew _ Virgil, he  _ trusted  _ Virgil; why did Patton look so utterly horrified. Patton rushed forwards, clutching his friend in a suffocating embrace. “Padre?” 

Patton pulled back after a moment without saying a word. He looked to the side, out the window; it was as if he were searching for Virgil in the leafy treetops. “I-” he cut off nervously. “I’m not… I’m not going to say you- you did the wrong thing…” he trailed on, closing his mouth with a click.

This… this was not how Roman thought this would go.

“But?”

Patton looked back at him, staring into his eyes with an intense gaze. “You… you trust him, right?” Roman nodded vigorously. “Then… then I won’t… won’t argue.” the blonde stood up again.

“Pat, you’re my advisor, if you think there’s something I should do; I’d like to know.” Roman reminded gently. Patton took a deep breath.

“I think you should stop.” he said nervously. “Stop talking to him… stop- stop putting yourself in danger.” he sucked air past his teeth. “I don’t know how much power he has with just your first name- but that’s just it!” he exclaimed.

“That’s just what?” Roman asked cautiously, dreading the answer.

“We don’t know what kind of power you just handed him!” Patton exclaimed. “He- he might be able to-”

Roman interrupted him. “He  _ might  _ be  _ able  _ to.” he reminded the other.

“What?” 

Roman sighed. “I’m not fighting your judgement, padre; well, kinda.” he chuckled humorlessly, Patton said nothing. “But I told him my name because I trust him not to use it.”

“But why did you?” Patton interrogated weakly. Roman blanked. “Because it’s a nice gesture?” Patton stopped; the prince could see the battle of morals behind his eyes. Roman shrugged hesitantly. 

“So you’re stupid, and you’re gay?” a familiar voice said from the doorway.

Remus was leaning against the door. The two inside startled, looking up at him with wide eyes. “How much have you heard!?” his brother exclaimed. Remus broke down, cackling in the doorway.

“Oh, brother.” he choked out. “Everything!” he exclaimed. “So, where are we right now?”

“Huh?” the other two asked him.

Remus waltzed into the room, plopping down on the corner of his brother’s bed. “Admitted to yourself, him, or neither?” at the odd looks he was given, he rolled his eyes. “Ah, understood.” he smirked. “Like I said, stupid and gay.” 

“What do you mea-.” Roman began to ask, then stopped. His face flushed, cheeks and ears burning at what his brother was proposing. “Wait, wait, no! It’s- it’s not like that.” he shook his head insistently.

Remus groaned. “God, Ro; you’re dense.”   
Patton was still looking between the two of them oddly. “What’s happening?” he asked, genuine confusion and a hint of curiosity plastered to his face. “What’s not like what?”

Remus smirked at his brother, then turned back to him. “Our own prince charming’s got it bad for this fae of his, and has no goddamn idea.”

“Language.” Patton told him, but he was grinning now.

“No, I don't,” Roman insisted. “I do  _ not  _ have a crush on Anxiety.” he repeated. “Stop looking at me like that!”

“Prove it.”

Roman stared the two down, for once in his life completely speechless. It wasn’t often that his brother and advisor, who never agreed, spoke together like that. Especially towards him. “Exactly.” Remus replied. 

“And what is this; Aren’t you not allowed to fuck with Ro?” a fourth, and hopefully final, voice spoke from the again open door. Remus’s advisor, a flighty family friend named Apollo, smirked.

“Would people stop barging into my room!?” Roman shrieked.

Apollo ignored him, plopping down cross legged on the tiled floor between the two princes. He looked up at Remus. “Figured it out yet?” he asked.

“We’re getting there.” Remus replied with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. He turned to the other two. “This is backup; here to call you out on your bullshit.”

“Ah, ah.” Apollo stopped him. “Teresa has stated that helping you when it comes to Ro can’t be classified as ‘bullshit’ or I’d have to stop.”

“Fine; cow-crap.”

“Better.” the two of them laughed. Roman sighed, being very used to his brother and Apollo. Patton, who was rarely forced to interact with the two together, looked downright horrified. “What’s the plan?”

“There is no plan!” Roman insisted, again. “I don’t like him, end of story.”

Apollo snorted. Then, his eyes widened in excitement. He began talking speedily in an unfamiliar language. Remus was also grinning. “What are you kiddos planning?” Patton asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.

Apollo and Remus didn’t reply, they just stood and sprinted out of the room before either Roman or Patton could stop them.

“This is going to end badly.” Roman deadpanned.

Patton snorted nervously. “What do you think they’re planning?” he asked.

Roman shook his head. “I don’t think I want to know.” Patton nodded, picking himself up. “Follow them?”

“Follow them.” Roman agreed heartily, standing up as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all were screaming at Ro in the comments, so I made it into a chapter. You're welcome.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I give you an annoyed stormcloud for a thousand words gay.

Nope.

That was pretty much the level of thought Virgil gave to the low knocking sound before going back to sleep. The likelihood of it just being some teen trying to piss off his brother (he wasn’t the only Janus-hater, obviously). “Virgil!” the other nymph roared. “What the actual hell is that sound?”

_ Uhhh fuc- _

The purple haired sat up, snapping “your problem!” before shoving his pillow over his head and trying his  _ goddamn hardest  _ to go back to sleep.

Rat tat tat.

That. was.  _ It _ . 

Virgil got up with a groan, ignoring the quiet  _ “yess” _ from the room over. He had half a mind to grab some kind of weaponry, just to be threatening or something. But, apparently, he was too tired to go through with it. 

Instead, he threw the door open with a loud, “What the actual fuck do you want, asshole?” he yawned as he spoke; when his eyes opened back up, he noticed an absolutely mortified looking blonde, and a cackling brunette.

Wait, the brunette looked familiar? Friend of Logan’s maybe? No… no that wasn’t… wait.

_ What the actual fuck? _

It took him a moment to notice, but the both of them had the weirdest, roundest ears he’d ever seen; not to mention how out of place the two looked. If he weren’t so god _ damn  _ tired, he would have laughed at his next thought. They were like those un-coloured background characters in low-budget cartoons. 

The brunette, who was still holding in his cackles, smirked at the wind nymph. “Now I see what’s got Ro-”

“Duke!” the blonde exclaimed, whirling around to glare at his counterpart. Virgil furrowed his brows; so they had the sense to use code names. He gave a humorless chuckle; as if he were gonna hex a few mortals.

Duke stuck his tongue out. “Look, if you don’t want to suffocate at the hand of one, or both, of the nymphs here; you’ll scram.” Virgil threatened. Neither of his unwanted guests made any move. “Fuck off” he insisted with a cheerless grin, and even fake jazz hands.

He began to shut the front door on the blonde’s face, but was stopped. “Wait, Anxiety.” Virgil stopped, brows furrowing further, and nose wrinkling. “I’m Morality, and this is Duke; we know Ro.” 

Virgil tried not to let the confusion and surprise show on his face, but he was pretty sure his utter exhaustion killed his poker face before it even came to being. “You know Roman?”

“Yup, sadly.” the duke deadpanned. Virgil couldn’t decide between snapping at him, or chuckling along. “I’m his brother, this is his advisor.” Morality gave him another horrified glare.

“Stop it!” he snapped. 

Virgil gave them a faux apologetic glance. “Oh, right; I have everywhere else to be; keep your mortal’s bullshit to yourselves, ‘kay?” and with that, he fully shut the door and speed-walked down the hallway before they could convince him to spend any more of his pretious nighttime not sleeping.

“And who were they?” Janus asked coldly from the doorway.

“Teenagers.” Virgil replied absentmindedly. 

Janus gave him another deadpanned look. “I know when I’m being lied to.” he reminded his brother.

“Congrats, asshole.” 

  
  


Virgil listened to the quiet call of gulls and the lapping of the ocean in front of him. He wasn’t sure how he would ever thank Logan enough for building him this mindscape. He liked the sand beneath his toes, liked the shimmering fish that darted around his calves when he stood in the warm water. More than that, he liked that it was always the perfect weather, and not often day. Right then, he was standing in the early dusk light, just enjoying his favourite part of the beach.

He was finally alone.

No Logan getting frustrated with him, no Janus complaining about his every move, no Roman making him so  _ damn confused _ , no Remy-

“Virgil! There you are.” 

_ Never fucking mind _ . 

Virgil pivoted on his heels, glaring at his friend. Remy strode towards him, still materialising against the cliff backing. Virgil hadn’t ever tried to climb them, but Logan told him he would always be stopped, as there was absolutely nothing beyond them.

“And what do  _ you  _ want?” he asked unkindly. Remy didn’t seem to mind, he just plopped down on the sand, gesturing for Virgil to follow. 

“A little birdie told me you were having guy troubles.” Remy informed instead of answering. “So, I’ve come to your aid. Come on, babes; spill the tea.”

“There is no tea, Remy.” Virgil told him flatly. “I made a friend, oh god; will you assholes leave me alone?”

“Nope!” Remy popped the P, still looking up at the wind nymph expectantly. “This asshole isn’t leaving ‘till he gets you a boyfriend.” Virgil rolled his eyes, turning away to hide the incoming blush.

“I don’t have a crush on Princey.”

Remy sighed, flopping back against the sand. “Oh, damnit; gurl, can we skip the ‘me convincing you of something obvious part’ just this once? Give your old pal a break.” 

“You’re not an ‘old pal’ Remy, we’ve known each other for a year now.” 

“Don’t care.” Remy finally stood up, towering over his friend. Virgil wrinkled his nose, the corners of his mouth pulling down in a low frown, he really wished the sleep nymph would sit back down. “I have, and will use, backup.” he threatened.

“Okay? I don’t actually give a shit. Leave me alone.” Virgil deadpanned.

At that, Remy sighed again, lower and longer than Virgil had ever heard him. “Backup!” he exclaimed.

_ Ho boy- _

“You called?” came an almost familiar voice.  _ Could this evening get any fucking worse?  _ Duke stood on  _ Virgil’s beach _ , smirking widely.  _ Where the hell was Logan in all this? How’d these assholes even get  _ in _? _

“Yes.” Remy replied, he turned a sly grin to Virgil. He and Duke plopped back down. “Mo has decided that Princey’s either gotta ghost you, or date you; no in between.”

Duke wrinkled his nose. “Morality would have said that better.”

Remy glared at him. “Am I Mo? No. Now, can we get this idiot a boyfriend already?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the Rems... they're working together


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I like this chapter? not as much as I hoped. Do I care at this point? no.  
> Enjoy, my fellow Disney children.

Present day-

It was early in the morning when Remus and Apollo’s plan was put into action. The world outside Roman’s window was blueish, beautiful. He wasn’t certain what woke him up at first, until he saw the flutter of his drapes.

Sitting on his window sill, backlit by the sky, was a nymph. Roman sat up instantly. “Who are you?”

The fae looked over, pulling the sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose to sit on his messy hair. “Mother Gothel.” he deadpanned. Roman blinked once, twice, thrice; before the other burst out laughing. “Call me Sleep.”

The two were silent for a moment. Sleep waiting for Roman to speak, but the human was too confused and frankly scared. The nymph finally rolled his eyes, glancing back outside. “Come on, Dee’s gonna wake up soon.” he informed, standing up and turning to the window. “Get a move on.”

Roman furrowed his brows, having half a mind to make a run for Patton’s room, or Remus’s; no, Teresa’s, she’s kinda scary when she wants to be. “Why?” he finally asked.

Sleep turned, stared, then rolled his eyes. “Do I look like I have a death wish? I woke Vee up  _ before noon  _ for a ‘surprise’.” Roman did chuckle at that. Virgil would, if he was actually part of this, be quite pissed.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing Patton. He slipped inside, shutting it quietly behind him. “Don’t worry, Princey, it’s not a setup.” he insisted in a stage whisper. He turned back to Sleep. “We really should get going; I don’t trust this Deceit character.”

“Is no one going to tell me what’s going on?” Roman asked.

“No.” the two chorused. The prince sighed.  _ If Pat’s in on it, I’m probably not going to get murdered today _ . He thought to himself as he stood.  _ Probably _ .

  
  


Sleep led the two humans down the side of the castle and into a boat moored near the great front doors. He said nothing as they went, just gestured for Roman and Patton to get in. The prince’s eyes were still narrowed in suspicion, but Patton looked like he was barely holding in some pure, intense excitement.

The boat slid down the river. At some point, Roman gave up glaring at Sleep; instead, he gazed out around the river banks. Slowly, the landscape changed from human, to FaeKey.

“Where are you taking me?” he breathed, Patton giggled and Sleep let out a single chuckle.

“You’ll see.” 

Sleep finally pulled up to a small lagoon. He and Patton stood up quickly. Roman moved to follow, but was stopped by Patton. “Nope.” he said, pushing the prince lightly back into the boat.

Roman raised an exaggerated brow at him, but sat back on his seat. Sleep pushed the boat out into the lagoon. It floated for a moment, before control took it over. Roman looked over the side to see a million glittering fish pressed against the wooden hull.

He continued watching them. Their scales glittered brightly in the rising light. Only once the boat thudded lightly against the opposite bank did he even realise he’d been moving.

The grass sloped upwards into a small hill. Standing there was Virgil, eyes closed and turned to the side.

The nymph must have heard the noise, because his eyelids fluttered open and he stared right at a nervous Roman. He stopped for a moment, before busting out laughing. “Oh god, fuck you Rem.” he choked. 

“Uhhh,  _ rude  _ much.” Roman replied. Virgil laughed harder, before placing a hand over his mouth to stop it.

“You know- you know what?” he said, grinning widely and still pushing down giggles. “Fuck it. Fuck you, let me in.” Roman tried to glare at him, but scooched over to let him into the boat.

As soon as he was settled, the glimmering fish took off once again down the river. “Wha-! Shit, dude.” Virgil cried, losing his balance at the sudden movement and pitching forwards slightly. Roman laughed. Virgil flipped him off with a barely-there glare. 

It took Roman a moment to notice the scenery around them. Greens fell away, morphing into blues and pastel pinks and purples. Virgil must have caught his gaze, because he smirked. “Like what you see, Princey?”

Roman kept staring, wide eyed and slack jawed. “This is where you live?” he breathed. Virgil stopped.

“Not exactly…?” he replied with a raised eyebrow. “Why?” 

“It’s beautiful.” Roman replied. He turned to Virgil, eyes filled with childish excitement. “Awestownding, marvelous; how do you get anything done when you could just… watch.” it wasn’t a question.

He’d seen pictures of the FaeKey before, but nothing was as beautiful as the trees, the grass, the creatures ~~, Virgil~~. When he turned back again, Virgil was smiling at him. Not smirking, no, he was content. 

“ _ There you see him _

_ Sitting there across the way” _

Roman turned out to see a siren sitting on a rock near the bank. She had her eyes closed, calculating. Virgil followed his gaze and groaned. “I’m gonna kill Rem when we get back.” he informed.

“Murder is wrong, Stormcloud.” Roman reminded him.

Virgil smirked. “Stormcloud, huh?” he asked. “That’s a new one.” Roman shrugged.

“I like it.” he replied. They sat for a moment, basking in the cool rays of light breaking through the leaves hanging above. 

_ “Yes, you want him _

_ Look at him, you know you do _

_ It’s possible he wants you too _

_ There’s one to ask him” _

They both turned their heads to the second siren, laying on the grass. His tail flicked gently in the shallows in front of him. He took no notice of the two on the river boat. 

Virgil laughed. “Some friend’s we’ve got?” he said, no bite to his words. “If this is what they think is romantic, they’ve got their heads in the clouds.”

“Romantic?” Roman squeaked. Virgil turned to him, still chuckling. 

_ “Sha-la-la-la-la-la _

_ My, oh my _

_ Looks like the boy’s too shy _

_ Ain’t-” _

“Fuck it.” Virgil sighed, pulling the prince towards him by the shoulder and kissing him soundly. 

Roman floundered for a moment, staring wide eyed at the nymph even after he’d pulled away. “Wha- warn a guy next time!” he shrieked.

Virgil snickered. “Sorry, couldn’t let him finish the line.” then he smirked again. “Next time?”

Roman rolled his eyes and pulled them together once again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're just gonna pretend this came out on time... and that I like the ending...

Three years later-

Roman shot up with a start, looking up and around at the dark room. Beside him, Virgil shifted, mumbling under his breath something that Roman couldn’t understand, but didn’t wake up. 

One thought bounced around in the prince’s head. It buzzed like a bee that had no reason to sting. It was the logo on one of those asleep computer screens, but with the force of a war hero. Okay, metaphors done, got them out of my system.

He got up quietly, trying his hardest not to wake the nymph beside him. After what felt like an hour, he stood and stretched, scanning the room for a paper and pen. 

“The wizards tower”, as Virgil so elegantly called it, stood atop a long hill. It wasn’t actually a tower or home to a wizard, it was merely Logan’s cottage, but making fun of him was far more fun than speaking literally. 

Roman knocked on the door, feeling the worn wood underneath his knuckles. When no one answered, he knocked again, even louder this time.

It swung in, throwing the prince off balance. “Virgil, it isn’t even five in the morning, wha- oh, Roman?” he asked, obviously taken aback at who was standing on his stoop. “What are you doing here?”

The prince took one deep breath. “How do nymphs get engaged?”

If Logan’s expression was anything to go by, that was certainly  _ not  _ what he was expecting to hear. “Come in, give me a second.”

* * *

Virgil opened the small servants door on the side of the castle with ease. Quickly, he was greeted by the queen’s advisor, Teresa, who grinned at him. “Good morning, Virgil, how are you?” she asked. 

“Good, good,” Virgil replied absently. “Hey, do you know where Ro is? He said he had ‘castle stuff’ to take care of.”

Teresa thought for a moment. “I can’t say I do.” she hummed in response. “Though, he and Remus may be up to something.” she laughed. “ ‘castle business’ is their usual excuse for that sort of thing.” 

Virgil thanked her quickly, racing up the stairs to the strangest room in the castle, Remus’s. He knocked loudly on the door, hearing voices inside but being unable to make out their words.

_ (first off, mortals may not have this issue, but there is an expanse of magic for fae, so you need to inform Remus before you do  _ anything  _ else, alright?) _

The door cracked open slowly, Remus poking his head out. “Virgin!” he exclaimed, far louder than necessary. “What are you doing here?” he asked nervously.

“Looking for Roman; seen him?” Virgil deadpanned.

Remus’s eyes widened. He looked back inside for a split second.  _ Yup, Ro’s in there; what the hell are these two planning?  _ “Uhhh nope! Maybe Teresa knows? Or Patton?”

Virgil gave him a tired, annoyed look. “I did ask Teresa, she told me you would know.” he informed, carefully not mentioning that he now knew  _ exactly  _ where the ‘elucid’ heir was.

“Ask Patton?” Remus suggested, expression giving away just how much he wanted the conversation to end.

“I know he’s in there.” Virgil told him.

Remus laughed nervously. “Heh, good one, Virgie; why would I lie to you? Go ask Patton or something.”

Virgil sighed, once again.  _ If I can’t ask Roman directly, maybe Patton knows something, or Apollo _ . 

* * *

_ (secondly, nymphs don’t do jewelry, you’re far better off with something you created.) _

Roman sighed, looking around the millions of FaeKey flora. The shop owner watched him curiously, but said nothing. Finally, the old druid came over with a warm smile on her face. “Good morning, sir, can I assist you in any way?”

The prince sighed, nodding. “I-” he stopped, unsure of what to say. “I need a flower.”

“I assumed.” the owner replied jokingly. Roman sighed lowly, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Well, what are you going to do with this yet to be decided flower?”

Roman’s hand dropped, he closed his eyes. “I- I’m gonna use it for a base for a… project.” he answered; it was technically true, just not what the druid was asking about. She gave him a deadpanned sort of look. “I’m gonna propose soon; my friend said this was the way to go.”

A sort of relieved, happy look crossed the woman’s face. “Ah.” she replied. “Give me a second.” she told him, disappearing into the back.

It felt like forever, and Roman only had so long to get everything done, but the shop owner walked back out with a single box. “It’s a Miyna Amethyst.” she explained, handing it over. “I think you’ll find it’s  _ exactly  _ what you’re looking for.”

Roman grinned in relief, looking down at the box, picturing the iridescent plant inside. “Thank you.” he told her earnestly. “How much?” he asked, beginning to pull out the coin purse he alway kept on him of fae currency.

The woman shrugged. “Just this once, take it.” she told him. “Virge never had the most expensive taste.”

Roman stared up at her smirk, taken aback. “Go get ‘m.” she said, shooing him out of the cottage and back into the quiet marketplace before he could react further.

* * *

_ (Finally, Virgil won’t want whatever answer he gives broadcasted to his world, so you should use a mindscape.)  _

Today was certainly strange, to say the least; Virgil noted bitterly. Finally, though, it was coming to a close. The sun was just beginning to set along the horizon outside Roman’s bedroom window. 

“Anxiety?” came a quiet voice from the doorway. He looked over suspiciously to see a younge castle hand. “I’ve been asked to tell you that Logic has been calling you.”

_ Honestly, not the weirdest thing so far _ . The nymph thought. He thanked the little boy, answering the call he somehow missed.

The mindscape was truly breathtaking. Tall pines shot up into the starry sky, surrounding warm iced-over lake. Standing in the middle, was Roman. “There you are!” Virgil exclaimed, racing over to him. “Where have you been all day? Why’s everyone acting so damn weird?”

Roman took a deep breath, not answering. Instead, he held out a purple flower surrounded in slightly reddish glass. It was beautiful, intricate, even more so than the prince's usual gifts.

“God, Virgil, I love you more than anything. So- would… will you marry me?”


	9. Chapter 9

Janus watched his little brother with a watchful eye. Virgil had moved out a year and a half ago, but still visited on weekends. Normally, they didn’t interact all that much more than they did while Virgil still lived in the cottage, but the two somehow spoke less than on weekdays.

Virgil stared through the paperback in his hands, trying his hardest to fight the urge to look over at his brother. Janus watched him like a hawk, waiting for him to slip up.

_Does he know?_ Virgil wondered nervously. _Is he just waiting to say something? Tell me he found the flower? Tell me he met Roman!?_ His shoulders curled forwards, pulling his form into a tighter ball.

_No, Jay would tell me if he knew Roman. Wouldn’t he?_

He pressed his lips together worriedly, begging his fears to float away in the wind he controlled. “Virge, what could be bothering you so much?” came the familiar drawl of Janus’s voice.

_Shit._ Virgil hissed quietly, certainly adding to the other’s confusion. “Your presence” he bit back, hoping the other would roll his eyes and go back to whatever he was doing.

“I know I annoy you, Virgil; but you seem terrified. Anything I could do to help?” Janus replied, tone devoid of any genuine concern or sympathy. _Fuck you_. Virgil whined internally. 

“It’s like you haven’t met me or anything; I’m alway terrified.” he answered sarcastically.

“Virgil.” Janus warned.

“It’s nothing, okay?” Virgil insisted, standing up. “I’m going to my clearing.” he added with as much finality as he could muster. 

He was not, in fact, heading to his clearing. Instead, he made the long trek down to the pastel lagoon. Mado, a young siren with curly orange hair, grinned at him. “Hey Virgie!” she called with a grin. “Whatcha here for?” she asked.

“Avoiding my brother.” he replied with an annoyed sigh. “You?” he asked.

Her smile fell slightly. “Avoiding my sister.” she replied. “We got into a big fight, she wants me to join her choir, I really don’t want to, she threatened to move us away, yadda yadda ya.”

Virgil frowned in sympathy, not really sure what to say. Mado took one look at him, and her grin returned full force. “Don’t worry about it! I’ll be one hundred in a month or so, just gotta calm her down before then.” she shrugged. “Then I’ll make my own damn choir!”

Now, the girl was grinning from ear to ear. “Happy almost birthday, then.” the nymph replied. “What are you gonna do?” he asked. He didn’t know _much_ about sirens, but they took centennials _very_ seriously.

“HUGE karaoke night!” Mado replied, voice taking a high, excited note. “There’s gonna be a _lot_ of us, and we’re gonna have a whole hat full of songs to sing, it’s gonna be the best.” she frowned again, more in thought than sadness this time. “Still not sure where to have it.” she explained.

Virgil shrugged. “Boa Isles.” he replied absently, more to himself than her. “There’s a bunch of caverns underneath, all connected.” he explained. Mado’s eyes widened in excitement.

“That sounds perfect!” she exclaimed. “Thanks Virgie.” her brows knitted suspiciously. “Why do you know that?” she asked, teasing lilt in her voice.

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck with a fond sigh. “My… Fiance has pretty much grilled Lo about, well… everything Fae.” he explained.

Mado’s eyes widened for the second time that minute. “You have a _fiance!?_ ” she exclaimed. Virgil shushed her quickly. “I’m sorry, _why did I not know this? Who is he!?_ ” she continued in a stage whisper.

“ _Because_ this happened on tuesday and I am _not_ letting Jay know.” Mado pouted.

“I won’t tell!” she insisted. “What’s he like?” she asked quickly, before Virgil could worry further.

“Annoying and ridiculous.” was all he said, the siren gave him a dirty look. “We are _not_ having this conversation.”

“Yes, we are.” she deadpanned. “Come on! Why can’t Janny know? Is he some kind of badboy or something?” Virgil actually snorted at that.

“Big no, he’s pretty insistent upon being the hero.” Mado was still looking at him, urging him to continue. “He’s… mortal.”

Mado wrinkled her nose. “Riiiight.” she replied. “JayJay is still hating on humans?” Virgil nodded. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll let you off the hook; as long as I get to meet him someday.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s cool.”

* * *

Janus sat, seething at his kitchen counter. A mortal, huh? Of course it was. He glared at the door, pretending he could be glaring at this asshat human. Was it really alright to hand one of them immortality? Really? 

~~Or for Virgil to give up his?~~

Mortals, they- they cared less of death than those who didn’t even experience it. They cut the lives right out of each other; and for what? The thrill of it? Food? Money? Power? 

He sighed, it was futile to try to understand the way their messy heads work; but god he wished it wasn’t so.

He was pulled from his spiral of thoughts by the front door opening. The familiar _wind nymph_ walked inside, a light grin on his face. Janus waited just a second to speak. “So, you’re engaged?”

The terrified look that crossed his brother’s face was answer enough.

* * *

In the end, per Mado and Logan’s suggestion, the reception was held on the Boa Isles. Everyone had huge grins on their faces (some were slightly mischievous, *cough cough* _Apollo and Remus_ ), and tears in their eyes. Except, of course, Janus. 

The wind nymph spent most of the time staring suspiciously, then quizzically, at the couple. 

“You doing alright, Janny?”

Janus whipped around, glaring daggers at whoever spoke to him. Mado was grinning like the cheshire cat at him. “It appears, kind sir, that you have lost.” she told him flatly, face dragged into a teasing pout. “Whatever will you do?”

Instead of being scoffed at, but otherwise ignored, like Mado had been expecting, Janus did something… unexpected to say the least.

He smiled, ever so slightly, but smiled. “Nothing.” he replied. “Nothing at all.”

Mado furrowed her brows, before forcing them into a flat line. “Giving up so easily?” she teased. “How unlike you!”

“Virgil, Janus is smiling. Code yellow! Your. brother. Is. _smiling_.” Roman stage whispered, eyes wide. Logan looked between the couple, before bursting out laughing. They both gave him odd looks. “Please don’t tell me you two are going to murder me in my sleep.”

His husband rolled his eyes.

Logan quickly stopped his laughter, but kept his grin. “I can assure you, there are no plans to assassinate you; at least from either of us.” Virgil elbowed him. “I merely… quelled his worries about you.”

“Now I’m nervous.” Virgil muttered.

Logan rolled his eyes. “You do remember the hostages Ruko and Caysha Verde?” he questioned. Roman shook his head. “Your kingdom captured the two of them, who were high lords of a neighboring military dictatorship. If it weren’t for you and Remus, while you were children, being so against the idea of execution, they would have been killed and war would have broken out between the two lands.”

Roman furrowed his brows, looking between the two nymphs. “Why would that make Janus trust me?” he asked. Logan said nothing; Virgil looked over, catching his brother’s gaze.

The two just smiled, saying nothing, and certainly not explaining anything to the recently-mortal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end! Thank you so, SO much for reading this random thing I decided to make. Words cannot describe how much just you reading has motivated me to write this, and pretty much everything else.  
> The ending was a bit unclear, but basically; Janus doesn't like mortals because they care even less about death than proper immortals, who don't face it all that often. However, he learned from Logan that Roman (and Remus, but that's not the important part), without even realising it, stopped deaths that Janus saw as unecessary. (hope that makes sense)


End file.
